But the culture of Carnaval in Brazil is much deeper than the hedonism that the world sees in the news. It is a time when Brazilians, rich and poor, black and white, rural and urban, put on a fantasia (the whimsical Portuguese word for costume) and become one with each other.

A poor man’s happiness is like/the big show that is Carnaval/we work all year long/for a moment to dream/and create a disguise/as a king, a pirate, or gardener/for all of it to end on (Ash) Wednesday

My friend and fellow Latin American observer Patrick McGuinness wrote last year about he has seen Rio de Janeiro (where Brazilian Carnaval is best known) change through the years. Part of the point he makes centers around the peculiar concept of “saudade”. As Patrick puts it, saudade is “about longing for the past and for places and people who have left or who are no longer with us”. It made me wonder how the requisite tristeza that comes with being Brazilian is changing now that Brazil is going through such good times.